Earth will become uninhabitable much sooner than expected

On 25 September 2023, a scientific study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, completely upturned the estimates about the future of our dear Earth.

The international team that conducted the research announced that our planet, in 250 million years, will experience extreme temperatures making human life impossible, according to the site Swigg. Whereas previous forecasts situated this disastrous phenomenon in several billion years, new observations reveal that such climatic conditions will become unlivable much earlier than expected.

The global climate deeply altered

According to the researchers, in 250 million years, a new supercontinent called Pangaea Ultima will be formed by the fusion of tectonic plates. A phenomenon not unfamiliar to the Earth which will result in a profound alteration of the global climate. And, when this fusion of continents occurs, it significantly influences oceanic and atmospheric currents, causing an inevitable rise in temperatures. Increase in carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere, intensified volcanic activity, reduction of oceans capable of absorbing greenhouse gases, add to this drastic climate change.

As Swigg reports, "the combination of high temperatures and excessive humidity will create an environment where the survival of mammals, including humans, will become practically impossible." According to the scientists, 92 percent of land surfaces will no longer be habitable, with body temperatures no longer being regulated by our perspiration. In some regions of the world, where climate change has already begun its work, this phenomenon has already been observed, creating significant heatwaves. Physiological limits are beginning to be breached in the Middle East and South Asia (with temperatures above 50°C).

Humans, powerless

While the formation and separation of supercontinents follow a natural rhythm spanning hundreds of millions of years, this time, climatic conditions could be much more intense than during previous fusions.

On a human scale, this distant deadline doesn't mean much, but it illustrates how much the Earth and its climate are in constant evolution and to what extent our planet undergoes natural disturbances in the face of which humans are powerless.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source: Swigg - Illustration: Unsplash)